STAYING HOME AND STAYING INSPIRED

Is it just me or does emotional turmoil heighten creativity?

For the record, I’m not saying I’m overly stressed about my own life right now. I feel extremely fortunate to still be working while many others aren’t able to and I have my health and good friends around me (well, not literally around me, but you get it).

What I am saying is that right now, with the world being so uncertain and upside down, it’s really prompted me to dig deep into my creative reserves. I mean, what else am I going to do with all this alone time if I don’t learn a handstand and become a makeshift hobby florist? Let’s just say I’m eerily good at being a recluse - who knew?

To share how I’m staying inspired, here are the five things I’m doing to stay creative during self-isolation:

Tune in to Instagram Live sessions! There’s tonnes of virtual concerts, meditations, cooking shows, and DIY courses on Instagram these days. I just love this community feel where we’re all in it together.

The other day, I ordered fresh @twigandbloom flowers to my door and followed along on their Instagram Live floral arrangement workshop and got super into it (turns out floral arranging is way harder than it looks)! I had so much fun and find that having all these fresh cut flowers around raises the positive vibes of my room.

Virtual hangs. Google Duo and House Party hangs are pretty much the new afterwork pub! Staying connected with my creative pals has helped keep me feel grounded, focused, and inspired.

Pro tip: choose really fun + creative friends (like @darbarelli) who challenge you to do things like an #IsolationCreation where you post fun, pretty new perspectives in your own house every day. Which leads me to my next tip:

Notice the beauty in your home and photograph it! Step 1: Wait for that buttery, golden afternoon light to spill through windows (usually around 3-4 p.m.). Step 2: take pictures! Find new angles – get low, go high, get close, stand back. Challenge yourself to take at least one beautiful photo of your home every day – once you start looking for these beautiful photo opportunities, you’ll see them all the time.

Get on that mat! Yoga has been a staple ingredient in my new super creative self-isolation lifestyle. @Yizzbeats from One Yoga (Matthew Yausie) has been leading my favourite yoga classes these days (from IG Live!). He has the *best* music and there’s nothing wrong with adding in some high CBD greenery like Penelope (by Tweed) or Balance (by Solei) to keep you focused and grounded during your practice. Actually, a huge goal of mine during this period is mastering a handstand and, although I have yet to do so, I feel like I’m close!

Become a bookworm. Devote some time to devouring a few great books. I’ve always tried to dedicate at least 15 minutes a day good literature, but with the extra time I’ve been reading even more. Right now I’m into Educated by Tara Westover and Because Internet by Gretchen McCulloch. They are both equally introspective and wildly intriguing. If we can’t expand our minds during this time, what are we even doing?

Finally, this is an obvious one, music is something that is so fundamentally part of me that I couldn’t really imagine working out, getting creative, or even connecting with people without it. Here’s a playlist I recently made that’s been keeping my creative juices flowing. (Props to my brother @Jessemill (Jesse Miller) for having the best taste in music and influencing my playlists, including this one, since 2003.)

---Tannis’ favourite product right now: Argyle by TweedWhat Tannis is listening to right now: This playlist